Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 336,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 7,390 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.11% of Agilent Technologies worth $46,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,595,000. BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 5,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,744 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,722 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $226,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333 in the last ninety days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on A. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.29.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $145.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $151.58.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Agilent Technologies Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.